Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Red crown curved pump plate.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a curved pump plate on EBay. I was looking at it and the porcelain was flatter than normal and it had small vertical cracks like it was rolled after the porcelain glaze was applied and baked. I have sent a question to the person asking them if this was original - and get no reply. Did I get scammed? Has any one have an original with these same cracks?

Scammed

Bob, Red Crown never made a pump plate curved or flat. What was the ebay item number? If the listing leads someone to believe it's original you can try to open a case against the seller.

One good thing is your now a member of this sight which should limit this from happening to you again. Anthony

Good morning Bob,
Show a photo of plate and the eBay auction number. Someone on Oldgas should be able to shed some light!

Anthony...I'm guessing the OP is talking about the Standard Red Crown rectangular pp in the 12X15 size....I'm sure a repro of this sign would be a prime item for rolling and aging to fool unsuspecting/uneducated buyers.
Darin

Sorry Bob--you were scammed!

The 11 3/4" - 12" round Red Crown signs are fantasy pieces. Standard used decals back then.
The Red Crown pumps signs were rectangular, and flat.

there are 2 on sold auctions from the same seller 261.29 & 133.06- don't see anything in either listing claiming original or reproduction...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-Crown-Gas-Porcelain-Sign-Curved-/181594692400

Until Bob mentioned it and Randy posted the pic I didn't even think about the repro 12" rounds. I think sometimes when you've been in the hobby for a few years, you take for granted the knowledge you gain. When the OP said he purchased a Red Crown pp the thought didn't even cross my mind he was likely referring to one of these rounds. The only original Red Crown pp I know of is the rectangular one, so I made the assumption this is what the poster had bought.
When I got seriously involved in the hobby 8+ years ago, 95% of these signs were still pretty much sold for what they are, fantasy signs used for decorating walls in "mancaves" or shops. With the explosion of the hobby in the last few years and the escalating prices, they became the prime bait for ripping off newcomers and uneducated buyers. Roll them, shoot them up a little, a few chips and a salt bath, they go from $20 signs to $200 signs to the unknowing buyer. I shake my head every time I see one of the Marathon running man 12" rounds sell for hundreds of dollars. I guess my purpose for this post was this kind of made me step back and realize how fortunate I was to come into the hobby just previous to the major rip-off explosion. Knowledge is king for sure.....if you're new to the hobby or unsure of what you're buying, do the research first, purchase later......unless it's a screaming deal and you don't mind taking a gamble, lol!
Darin

The best thing anyone in the hobby can do is educate themselves. There are some good books on individual companies, signs, and globes. Study old photographs of gas stations. Search the completed auctions on Matthews Auctions website (I hope Dan keeps the site up. It's a great resource for the hobby).
Learn when, where and how signs were displayed.
Ebay is the worst possible place for someone new to the hobby to be buying petroliana!There are a lot of unscrupulous scumbags selling unmarked, artificially damaged fakes on ebay.
Go to the shows. Go to the collector auctions that are held in conjunction with the shows. If in doubt, post a question on here.

My two cents:
This seller is making a living ripping off buyers with phony rolled and artificially aged signs. Check out his ended auctions.
You might get a full refund if you claim the sign wasn't as described. You say it has small vertical cracks in the porcelain. Those don't show in the photos. That is a real clue the sign was rolled. As far as I can see in his ended auctions all of the signs are phony, bogus, artificially aged to deceive. I even wonder if there are shill bids.

After reading your writing It sounds like you got scammed. I'm very SORRY to hear this. I was burned ONCE on a 12in pump plate repop. I was mad got taken, but made that my first and last mistake.

A good rule of thumb with any 12in, pump plate, oil cart, oil rack, lubester, or any other small sign, is to research photo's of it in it's original environment. Then consult other collectors here that may have the original you're looking for. Safe to say most members will shed light to spotting a fake. As long as they feel their information is going to good use, not to aid the repopper's.

If the price is right it's usually to good too be true in today's market. A lot of signs that look "old, rusty or patina'd" on eBay could be artificially made that way. Also some signs are fantasy meaning they were never made in that size, intended for the use the seller is "promising" or in some cases EVER EXISTED!

Be careful proceeding. I hope this helped and you can get a FULL refund.

-Anthony

I would definitely be returning it. You are able to look up the contact info for a seller you have had a transaction with. Look up his telephone number and then call him and make him squirm like the low life crook that he is!!

Thanks for all the info! I will be contacting the seller for a refund.